At a fundamental level, basic statistics is taking raw data and computing valuable summaries such as mean and standard deviation, determining if there is a relationship between different data types or using data to determine if a hypothesis regarding a population is true. Different fields emphasize different areas of statistics and in this case the target is the student in the social, behavioral or life sciences.
The book is very readable for students that may not be comfortable with a large number of formulas. Explanations are extensively textual in form and diagrams are used where needed. Two sets of problems (called A and B) conclude each chapter with the solutions to all A following the problems. Solutions to all set B problems appear at the end of the book.
Approximately one-third of the book covers descriptive statistics, regression and correlation with the balance an explanation of hypothesis testing. The types of testing covered are one-sample and between-groups t-tests, ANOVA and chi-square tests. Appendix F is a 35 page description on how to use the SPSS statistics package. It is a compact description with no screen shots, which can sometimes be a problem with students that are uncertain about using computers to do what they perceive as math.
If you are teaching a service course for students in the social, behavioral or life sciences and don’t want to use a standard basic statistics book, this is one that will work for you and your students.
Charles Ashbacher splits his time between consulting with industry in projects involving math and computers, teaching college classes and co-editing The Journal of Recreational Mathematics. In his spare time, he reads about these things and helps his daughter in her lawn care business.